A giant Pacific octopus sticks to the tank glass in the Cold Water Quest exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jaime Henry-White)

(Newser)
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Thanks to unexplained drowning deaths in Oklahoma lakes over the past few years, a strange theory has begun spreading its tentacles. According to some, what's to blame is... a killer freshwater octopus. It's true the octopus is an adaptive wonder, capable of living just about anywhere in the world's oceans, but Scientific American pokes a couple of holes in the "Oklahoma Octopus" theory. For one, adapting to freshwater would be a major feat, even for an octopus, since it would take some extreme changes on a cellular level.

Not only would an octopus have had to adapt to freshwater, but it would have needed to make "its way up the Mississippi and subsequent smaller rivers, swimming upstream—and navigating numerous dams," SA explains, since the majority of Oklahoma lakes were man-made by damming rivers. And then there's the fact that, unlike, say, Bigfoot, there isn't even "improbable" photo evidence of the creature. And so, the "Oklahoma Octopus" lives on as legend and the drowning deaths remain unexplained—"except by a few folks who proffer that giant catfish are to blame," SA quips.

People have salt water aquariums and the premise that the oklapus couldn't have gotten from the oceans into an Oklahoma lake by the river route isn't germane. Many people dump their "UNWANTED PETs" into the woods or rivers when they either get tired of them or they get too big and expensive to keep. As to an octopus managing to adapt to fresh water - - my nephew had a house sitter contaminate his salt water aquarium with fresh water. Only a few expensive fish died but some, including his octopus, did survive. Having said that, it is highly doubtful that this creature, if it did survive someone dumping it into the chilly waters of Oklahoma lakes, would grow large enough to become a threat to humans.